Apple

• Apple ipads and other products made the company the top technology company of 2011.Mario Tama/Getty Images News/Getty Images
  
  The first computers filled large rooms. Then they were down-sized to large boxes on desks. Businesses were the initial purchasers of computers and related technology. Computers were heavy, bulky and expensive, but got smaller and cheaper over the years. The next development was products that fit in the palm of your hand. Apple invented iPods, iPhones and iPads that have changed how, where and when we communicate. Business dictated technological needs in the 20th century. Consumer needs drive technological innovations in the 21st century.
  
  

Microsoft

• Bill Gates and Paul Allen, two childhood friends and computer geeks, created the first Microsoft product in 1975. A contract with IBM in 1980 launched the company into the vanguard of technology companies. Microsoft was the top technology company in the world for years, and still ranks second after Apple. The company's operating systems run 9 out of 10 computers on the planet and their office software is also extremely popular.
  
  

Fastest Growing Technology Companies

• Google is inching up on Apple. It is introducing mobile devices with its Android operating system and mobile advertising. It is ahead of Apple in Internet-connected TVs. Forbes magazine publishes a list each year of the fastest growing technology companies. The information technology company Cognizant Technology Solutions has been on the list several years running. The fastest growing company on the 2010 list and number 1 on the 2011 list was First Solar, a manufacturer of semiconductor technology, solar energy equipment and solar panels. Riverbed Technology provides systems to speed data transfer over large networks and also develops cloud computing technologies.
  
  

Social Media

• Most social media companies remain privately held in 2011, but many will eventually go public. Venture capitalists have jumped on the Facebook bandwagon. Facebook is a popular social media networking site. Foursquare offers mobile locator software. The company grew 3,400 percent in 2010. LinkedIn, a business social networking site, is expected to announce its IPO sometime in 2011. Estimates value the company at $3 billion. Zynga, a social network game developer, created the popular FarmVille game for Facebook. Zynga trades privately and is valued at $6.2 billion. Twitter, a social networking site, and Groupon are two additional companies in this category. Groupon offers a coupon deal-of-the-day on the Internet. The company started in Chicago and has customized services to different geographic areas throughout the United States and overseas.